By Scott Norton
The waters are warm and storms are rolling in. We are now in the summertime pattern, and now is the time to search out where the “big ones” are. You might ask what is a summer pattern? It’s any and all things shallow. Top water lures are hot right now and if you’re not using a frog, walking bait, wake bait, poppers, and prop baits, you are missing out. This is also a great time to use swimbaits as well.
So when do you use top water baits? They work great in low light situations and cover. Mornings, nights with full to three quarter moons, cover, and cloudy days. My best catches come from brush piles when a storm is coming in, which means the barometric pressure is on its way down. You can also judge it by how low the clouds sit in the sky. Make sure when you fish cover like brush piles, grass, over hangs, and docks, that you don’t cast your bait on top of their heads. Cast past your target and work your way in. If you have a sunny day with no clouds they will hang tight to cover as well. Places where current is present is another spot to stick with.
You will find yourself in situations where you may have days that are just too hot to fish and the answer to that is to fish at night. The best times are near, or on, a full moon. You’ll want to stick with top water baits on this one. If you haven’t tried night fishing you will never find a better bite. The reason for using top water is so you don’t get snagged in cover you can’t see. Give it a try-you’ll thank me later.
Big swimbaits like glide baits, paddle tails, and multi sectional baits have a large drawing power for big largemouth. If you’re looking for quality, go this direction. Lately, I’ve had the best results with a bluegill style multi-sectional bait. Big bass are feeding up on bluegill wherever they congregate. Paddle tails are great, if your find bass down deep. I recommend a three quarter to a half-ounce bait for these situations.
Now let’s talk about weather. You’ll want to plan on a day where the pressure is falling and will continue to fall. The easy way to judge this is go before a storm hits. Be sure to plan on getting wet so bring a rain suit because these big bass get turned on after the rain moves in, so don’t miss out on that. Hope this helps for all you anglers this summer. Good luck!
Scott Norton is a native of Western North Carolina. Born in Asheville, NC, he is a long time avid hunter, angler, and weekend warrior.